Page 28 of When You Got a Good Thing (Misfit Inn 1)

Leanne rolled her eyes. “Six months isn’t enough time for that label to wear off?”

“Sugar, six years probably won’t be enough time for you to be considered a local with that Yankee accent.” Xander gave her a significant don’t you have work to do look.

“Yeah whatever, Kincaid. Nice to meet you, Kennedy.” Leanne didn’t leave, but at least she retreated to her desk on the other side of the room.

Before he could say anything else, Essie came in from the break room. “Why Kennedy Reynolds, as I live and breathe. How are you, sweetheart?”

A look of vague panic crossed Kennedy’s face as she was subjected to the awkward you’re basically a stranger but this is the small town south and I knew your mama hug. “I’m doing okay.”

“I’m so sorry about your mama. She was a good woman.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Vaughn.”

“If there’s anything I can do to help, you just let me know.”

“Yes ma’am. Thank you. And I was so sorry to hear about Mr. Vaughn. He was my favorite teacher.”

Essie’s late husband, Henry, had been the music teacher at the high school. One of the few Kennedy had actually gotten along with. After a long fight with cancer, he’d finally passed away about three years before.

The older woman’s eyes went a little glassy. “Thank you, honey. We had a good run.” She squeezed Kennedy’s shoulders and sniffed. “He always loved you.”

Xander was shocked Essie didn’t give her the third degree—where all she’d been, what she’d been doing— but then the older woman only retreated so far as her desk across the room. Asking additional questions was hardly necessary when she could just eavesdrop. She wasn’t even subtle about it, sitting there with her hands clasped over her heart as she watched. Maybe he should offer to make some popcorn.

Because he wanted to reach for Kennedy, Xander shoved his hands in his pockets. “Was there something we could do for you?”

She finally stopped looking at everything else in the room and met his gaze. “I need you.”

Her words shot straight down his spine and into his dick, which was more than ready to comply.

Two bright flags of color bloomed in her cheeks. “Your back, I mean. And maybe a friend’s if you can round someone up.”

That definitely took a different turn than he’d expected. “Sorry?”

“You said you were happy to help with whatever, wherever. Pru’s moving into the big house until further notice, and I—We were hoping you could help us out.”

“Oh.”

She shoved her hands into the back pockets of her jeans and hunched her shoulders. “I’d have called, but I don’t actually have a phone. I mean, an American phone. Yet. It’s on the list.”

Kennedy was nervous. He hadn’t seen her babble this badly since the entire eighth grade class was forced to audition for the middle school play. Was she nervous to be around him, or was there something about being in the Sheriff’s Office?

“Anyway, I had to run by the pharmacy to pick up some stuff, and I thought I’d take a chance you’d be here and just stopped by.”

Once he was reasonably sure she’d run out of steam, he offered what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “Of course. I’m happy to help. I’ve got a buddy or two I can tap for extra manpower. Trucks too, if needed.”

“It’s not the whole house, just a few key pieces. Mostly for the business. She’s still got her portable massage table, but since there’s plenty of space at Mom’s house, she’s going to turn one of the downstairs rooms into her work space for now.”

“Makes sense. I never did think it was a great idea for her to travel to clients.”

They lapsed into silence. Big green eyes watched him, as if, now that she was looking, she couldn’t drink in the sight of him fast enough. Xander could relate. He was starved for her touch, the taste of her. Never in his entire career as a cop had Xander cared that he didn’t have an office. He preferred being out patrolling, doing his job. But damn, what he’d give for a private space with a door right now.

“Are Maggie and Athena still here?”

“For the moment. Athena goes back to Chicago tomorrow. Maggie’s trying to take a few more days to line some things up. We’ve been doing a huge clean of the house.”

That explained the faint scent of lemon oil and the little smudge of dirt on her cheek.

“You’ve got a little something—” Xander started to just point but couldn’t help himself. He reached out to brush a thumb over the smudge.

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